Buckland Development Q&A: Creating a Legacy For Welborne Garden Village Posted on: January 19th, 2021 Buckland Development Ltd has brought forward plans for a new garden village in Hampshire. Welborne Garden Village sits between the South Downs National Park and the coast and it will see the development of 6,000 new homes, shops, schools, employment space and more. Ahead of their involvement in our Garden Cities & New Towns Development Event we’ve been speaking to Fiona Gray, Project Director for the scheme… Q. Why did Buckland Development decide to pursue the development of a Garden Village at Welborne and how will it be transformative? We see Welborne as a legacy project. Over a decade ago we started looking at an approach to development that would stand the test of time and fit with our long-term aspiration for a sustainable new community at Welborne. The Garden City principles are a good fit with our vision. Q. How is Buckland ensuring that Welborne is well connected with the rest of Hampshire? [emaillocker id=”71749″] Welborne’s location naturally lends itself to enable excellent connectivity to the region – on foot, by car, public transport. Our designs and layout have sought to integrate and improve those existing connections (from upgrade M27 Junction 10 works, new pedestrian routes and bridleways, new public transport routes, walkable neighbourhoods etc) but also looking to the future such as setting aside land to allow for a potential rail halt. But connectivity is also about digital connection especially with the likely shift to more working from home in the future, we will be making sure Welborne deliver this. Q. Welborne Garden Village is set between the South Downs National Park and the coast, how are you making the best use of the area’s unique natural assets? There will be plenty of natural assets on site Welborne itself covers an area of around 1000 acres – approx 50% of which will be green space including parks, natural space, playground, gardens and ancient woodland. For example, we will be planning in a 10km circular walk around the Welborne accessible green space. The areas unique natural assets provide a great setting for the new community. Q. How is sustainability baked into the plans for Welborne Garden Village? Sustainability is a ‘golden thread’ that runs through all elements of our design and aspirations for Welborne – we want Welborne to stand the test of time and for that it has to be sustainable from an environmental, social and financial perspective. There are many examples of how we are integrating sustainability into our thinking – from the construction of a 50MW solar farm, to our Biodiversity Strategy and Stewardship Model. This ‘golden thread’ will continue as we move from planning to detailed design. Q. What is envisioned as the main sources of employment at Welborne and how many jobs could the project potentially create? With an estimated 25 year build out, the employment within the construction sector alone is estimated at 7,300 temporary jobs and 318 full time. Welborne iteslef will bring a range of employment opportunities from education (x3 primay and x1 secondary school), retail and leisure (via district centre and village centre) not including the significant employment area for offices and other employment. Not including construction, it is estimated Welborne could bring 6,000 jobs – a significant driver to economic recovery for the region. Q. How are you delivering real social value when it comes to the development at Welborne Garden Village? It’s a well used phrase now but place-making has been at the heart of our vision since the outset 15 yrs ago. A key part of that place-making is creating a sustainable connected community. Our approach focuses on investing early in the infrastructure. This means delivering the social infrastructure early – so that community halls, schools, open space, village centre etc delivered along-side the homes. We will be staying involved in the growing community through the Welborne Garden Village Trust – a not-for-profit organisation established to stimulate and support village-life and community ethos. Register for the Garden Cities & New Towns Development Event here: https://www.built-environment-networking.com/event/future-development-plans-towns/ [/emaillocker]
